Indian telco and broadcasting giant Reliance is promising another US$200 million in Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks studio. Reliance invested $325 million back in 2009. The cash helped finance movies such as War Horse and The Help, both of which were critically well received, but failed to dominate the box office. The new cash injection permits DreamWorks […]
Sky has announced its intention to build on its significant commitment to original British content with a major new investment in feature-length British films for television. The investment has two distinct and complementary strands: new films for family audiences on Sky Movies and the best new documentary films on Sky Atlantic, which will be available […]
Following on from the launch of its smart TV and mobile applications, as well as growing global distribution of its HDTV channel, Swiss-based iConcerts has finalised a deal with UK based 3DD Entertainment to produce the first ever live performance ‘augmented reality’ TV format which will be powered by iConcerts ViPass platform. 3DD will […]
A+E Networks has reached an agreement to license three new 3D titles to UK satcaster BSkyB. The three specials are, Titanic: 100 Years in 3D, History of the World in Two Hours and Invisible Sku will feature Titanic: 100 Years in 3D and History of the World in Two Hours along with two other titles […]
Chancellor George Osborne has announced a tax credit scheme for TV production and animation firms is to be introduced, in a bid to keep creative talent in Britain. Osborne said it was the government’s “determined policy” to keep Wallace and Gromit animators Aardman in Britain. Last month, Aardman bosses admitted they had been considering moving […]
Lord David Puttnam, President of the UK’s Film Distributors’ Association (FDA), has stressed the importance of continued support and public investment in UK film distribution during this Olympic year and beyond, to allow UK cinema admissions and box-office to continue to flourish. He also used his keynote speech to the UK film industry to call […]
Marking the first time an international distributor has signed a first look deal with an online video service, FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME), a leading creator and producer of entertainment brands, and Hulu have announced an agreement for international distribution rights to the online video service’s original commission programming. The deal, which enables FME to distribute Hulu […]
Channel 4 is to boost its programming budget by about £50 million (€60m) in 2012, as the broadcaster struggles to address a fall of almost 10 per cent in viewing by 16- to 34- year-olds. David Abraham, the chief executive of Channel 4, is set to announce that the broadcaster intends to boost its programming […]
Richard Desmond’s Channel 5 is to launch its own in-house production division. The new department, called Channel 5 Productions, will be the first time in the broadcaster’s 15 year history that it has made its own programmes. A new cookery format presented by Pierre White, who previously fronted ITV1’s Hell’s Kitchen, is one of a […]
Endemol has reached an agreement with a “significant majority” of its lenders, bringing to an end more than a year of talks to restructure its €2.8 billion debt. The TV production company said that it had reached an agreement in principle with more than two-thirds of its lenders to push through a restructuring of its […]